At Home in Salinas

Even though Hyrum had a rough few days at the beginning of the trip, Christian and Andrew had so much fun. I don't even think they realized that he was sick :) Hayden and Paige are actually my cousins, but they are close to Christian and Andrew's same ages. They all got along so well. Any time we were at home, the kids were out in the backyard playing or Grandpa was keeping them entertained with puzzles and experiments. 

Grandpa and Grandma have such a great backyard. It is an oasis in the middle of the city. They have a huge incredible garden, several fruit trees, 2 trampolines, and lots of room to play. The kids especially loved driving the Gator around the yard. They were a little too big for it, but that didn't stop them. They squeezed in and drove it around and around. Hyrum happily tagged along with them whenever it was out. I'm glad Andrew has many years to practice before driving a real car because he was a bit scary! They also spent a lot of time digging and playing in the garden area. Nothing had been planted yet, so they made holes, tunnels, and mud pies. They were filthy, but happy. At the end of most days, Grandpa made a fire and they roasted marshmallows for s'mores. They were in little boy heaven.

The kids were still on Mountain Time, so they were up early every morning. One morning Grandpa walked with them to the donut shop around the corner. It was a fun morning adventure, and the boys LOVE donuts.

Grandpa also spent lots of one on one time with the boys. I thought it was so wonderful for them to get to know their Great-Grandpa. He made muffins with Andrew one morning and then made them with Christian another. He also brought out all of his puzzles and brain games for the boys to try. They had fun trying to figure them out. At one point, he taught Christian about circuits with a lightbulb setup that he invented. They worked with it for a while and then Christian showed it to Andrew. He accidentally crossed the wires and shorted the circuit. He blew a fuse and caused quite a commotion. Everything was fine, and Christian learned a good lesson about electricity. Grandpa also created a special book for Christian that was full of stories that Grandpa had typed up. We read all of the stories on the way home and learned many interesting things.

Grandma was so thoughtful and prepared for us. She tried extra hard to have food that the kids would like and always had a yummy dessert on hand. When Hyrum was sad, she would read him a book or find a car for him to play with to help him be happy. She really helped everything to run smoothly, and that is quite a task. We are so grateful for wonderful Great Grandparents who made the trip so memorable.

It was also fun to see Aunt Teresa, Aunt Tracie and cousin Jacquelyn. I know they have busy lives, but they took the time to come see us and spend time with us. Aunt Teresa was so kind and prepared many of the meals as well. I hope there are many more trips to California in our future.